Hockey India League 2024-25: Gonasika dominates Tamil Nadu Dragons in comfortable 4-2 win

Hockey India League 2024-25: Gonasika dominates Tamil Nadu Dragons in comfortable 4-2 win

Team Gonasika picked apart a hapless Tamil Nadu Dragons 4-2 in the Hockey India League (HIL) Pool B game at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, here on Saturday.

Three goals in the final 15 minutes reflected on its dominant display against the Dragons, who struggled to find rhythm on the ball and will have to wait to confirm its semifinal berth.

As the crowd started filtering in slowly for the early evening clash, local boy Amit Rohidas gave them a reason to cheer when he gave an early lead for the Dragons. Tom Craig was brought down inside the circle and Rohidas drag-flicked it with pace along the turf to evade a crowded right side and sound the boards

Gonasika got a rare opening late in the first quarter after a mistake from Jip Janssen in possession. Struan Walker deftly reversed a pass into the circle where a waiting Araijeet Singh Hundal showed why he is highly rated with a swaggering finish.

In the second quarter, Gonasika kept probing with its crisp passing and ball-carrying while the Dragons were forced to play on the counter. Gonasika tried different variations from the PCs but the Dragons covered the angles well to keep themselves from going behind.

For the last three quarters, it was Gonasika which controlled the game and continued to knock on the doors before an unusual variation from a PC caught the Dragons off guard.

It was a match-up between the team with the best conversion from penalty corners against the worst in the league with the narrative playing out for most of the game. The Dragons scored from its first short corner while Gonasika couldn’t convert from its first six chances before it struck late in the third quarter.

When Jack Waller provided the injection, Victor Charlet seemed to miscontrol the ball before he shifted it to the left for Manpreet Singh. Manpreet played it into the penalty stroke area to find Waller, who had moved into space to apply the finish.

In the final quarter, Gonasika put breathing space in the scoreline when Tim Howard poked the ball from close range after an excellent passing move. For the fourth goal, Gonasika nearly walked the ball into the net with an intricate passing move, before Nikkin Thimmaiah Chendanda lifted the ball into the roof of the net.

The Dragons woke up in the final few minutes with Craig pulling one back for his side but it couldn’t force another.